Just switched from Lantus to Levemir and I'm struggling a bit...

[kriseski]

Hey everyone,

I was diagnosed with Type 1 in 2011 and have been on a Lantus/Novorapid up until about 3 months ago.

My control has always been really tight, but after attending a recent DAFNE course, the nurse was keen on switching me over to Levemir. I think their main worry was that I am at risk of hypos because of my tight control.

After lots of resistance I finally made the switch to Levemir. I feel that I'm at less risk of hypos, but I've been struggling with controlling my BG levels. I used to have morning BG level of aroun 5/5.5 but now I wake up at about 7 mmol/l.

I got my hba1c result today and was upset to see that it has risen from 6.5% (48) in June 2019 to 7.4% (57).

It's stressing me out and I'm really considering going back to Lantus as I found it much easier.

I'm going to start by raising my Levemir dose at night and hopefully that helps my morning readings but I'd be really keen to hear from other people who have made the switch....

Kris

 

[mikeyB]

Hi Kris, welcome to the forum🙂

I made the switch three years ago, and my HbA1c went down. That was on a split dose of Levemir, 2/3 in the morning and 1/3 in the evening. A single dose doesn’t quite last 24 hours. I found that easy- the morning dose covers daytime eating, the evening dose covers sleeping, and keeps the waking numbers nicely in range. It’s the evening dose that I sometimes have to vary to get things just right, but it’s a sight easier than it ever was with Lantus.

 

[Robin]

I’m another who made the switch. Like Mike, I do a split dose, and take more in the morning and less at night, because that's what seems to suit. I’ve also found that using a Libre has been a game changer, because I can see exactly what’s going on overnight (in my case, a dip around about 3am) and find that helps tweak my levemir when it needs it.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Levemir generally works best in 2 doses (it’s activity lasts 12-16 hours for most people I think)

Good that you feel less at risk of hypos. And 7.5% is not too shabby at all.

Have you ever worn a continuous sensor to see what happens ‘between the dots’? Is your nurse right? Are you having lots of hypos? Or are you just managing your BG very effectively?

Research suggests that 5 is as low as you’d want to go for a waking BG. Any lower and you are at much greater risk of undetected overnight hypos - and once you’ve had a few of those for an hour or more you can get a real dent in your hypo warning signs.

 

[DaveB]

Hi. Although in some ways splitting Levemir does give 24 hr coverage it makes balancing more complex. I've stuck with a single dose and tweak my Bolus as the Levemir runs down to compensate. It also means one less injection.